Chapter 32: Lightbulb Moment

She took his hand. They’d been through so much, Roxanne was sure she could handle what he had to tell her.
“I confronted Baxter.”
“You what?” she asked, widening her eyes.
“I meant to just watch him, try to figure out what he’s up to,” Tom said, not meeting her gaze.
“Tom, he’s in on it, I know. I saw him that day I - you – we got arrested. He was standing outside by his car.”
“By my house?”
“Yeah, it was weird. How did he know?”
Tom cocked his head. His body stayed still but Roxanne could tell his mind was racing.
“I don’t know, but I don’t like how he treats people. I saw how he was with this waitress and it was…” Tom’s face tightened, and he clenched his fist a little. “You don’t have to tell me, but I know something happened that day I met you.”
Roxanne’s eyes started to water with the memory.
“I’m not going to let him hurt you. I told him we’re on to him,” Tom said through clenched teeth.
“But we have nothing,” Roxanne held out her hands, her voice cracking a bit. “We know nothing.”
“He’s going to make a mistake, Roxanne. And we’re going to catch him.” Tom looked into the far corner of the room. “I don’t know how yet, but we’ll figure it out. I mean, he must have known the permit was stolen. That’s the only explanation for why he was there for the arrest.”
Roxanne patted Tom’s hand. She made eye contact with him and gave him a consoling smile.
“Thanks for standing up for me. I’m sorry I got mad about Ruby. I’ll do whatever you need to get that land for your development deal.”
Tom bent his head and peered up at Roxanne.
“That’s the other thing I have to tell you.”
“What?”
“I told Ruby the truth.”
Roxanne let go of Tom’s hand and held her hands to her mouth in shock.
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t expect to run into her, but then I did and you know how bad I am with people.” Tom shook his head, still looking stressed, the veins on his forehead popping out a little.
“Anyway, I couldn’t do anything but lie to her. One lie after another. They were starting to taste so sour. I couldn’t spit another one out. So I told her the truth – some of it,” he held up his hand to show he’d stopped at some point.
“And how’d she take it?”
“Surprisingly well – maybe – I don’t know. She wants to talk about her father’s land – soon.”
“That’s a good sign – I guess,” Roxanne nodded, trying to get Tom to feel hopeful too.
Tom leaned back in the chair. It squeaked a little. He did it again, testing the chair to see if it was broken.
“Just needs a little tightening,” Roxanne said. “Owen used to keep a tool kit under the bar.”
Tom stepped over to the bar, found the toolbox, and returned to the table. He pulled out a screwdriver and started to tighten the screw. It wouldn’t turn.
“Here, “Roxanne said, grabbing a different screwdriver, “You need a bigger one,” and she started to turn the screw, Tom still kneeling down to watch her.
When she was finished, Tom sat back in the chair.
“I guess you’ll be the resident handyman at the bar,” he said.
“Yeah, there’s a nail loose at the end of the bar, that’s been driving me crazy for some time.”
She took a hammer, found the area under the bar, and hit the nail into place.
“You know how sexy you look right now with your tools?” Tom said. Roxanne sniggered.
“Your turn. There has to be something you can fix here.” Roxanne looked around. “Ah…” She pointed at one of the light fixtures with a dead lightbulb.
“You’re tall. Looks like that one’s for you.”
Tom stood on a chair while Roxanne fetched the bulb she knew Owen kept in a backroom closet.
She handed it to Tom. When he screwed it in, the lightbulb flickered and shocked Tom’s hand. He jumped back, almost falling off the chair.
Roxanne laughed. “Yeah, we should have turned the switch off first. You really need some lessons.”
He stepped down to her. “I guess it’s harder than it looks.” He wrapped his arm around her. They both looked around at the bar.
“You know we’ll have to give my dad a job. He can’t stay on his feet all day, but something to keep him busy would be nice.”
“Supply manager?” Tom asked.
“Sounds good.”
“And if we ever need a building permit – I’ll handle it,” Tom pushed a strand of hair away from Roxanne’s face.
“That’ it.” Roxanne snapped her fingers. “If Baxter’s up to something, and we know he is, we can look at who he signed permits for. Maybe we’ll uncover something fishy.”
“Easy enough. Most of that information’s public anyone. I’ll get someone on it,” Tom said and stepped aside with his phone.
***
A few days later, after some digging, and probably a bribe or two, Tom’s informant found out Baxter had signed a building permit for a fake corporation on the east side of town. They were redesigning an old warehouse, but it wasn’t clear why. When Tom’s investigator couldn’t find a license for the company supposedly involved, he knew it must be a fake.
Tom and Roxanne drove by the building site on a cloudy day, the threat of rain hanging low in the air. They could see men from the construction crew coming in and out of the building with various supplies. Based on the items and tools they were gathering, Roxanne surmised they were working on reframing some areas of the building.
When one of the workers drove off in a pick-up truck, Tom and Roxanne followed.
“Baxter’s got to be in on it. A fake corporation, and he didn’t realize it?” Roxanne questioned. “I don’t recognize anyone from that crew. It’s possible they hired some guys from outside Memphis.” Tom nodded.
They continued to follow the truck until it stopped near a field across from a lumber supply store. A few men in jeans and work boots sat around, some eating snacks, others just talking with each other. The worker in the truck they were following pulled up and talked to one of the men, then the group climbed into the back of the pick-up, and it pulled away.
“They’re hiring some extra hands,” Roxanne said. They followed the truck back to the building where the men hopped out and were handed various tools as they walked in.
“Put on your hard hat, Tom, you’re joining the construction crew,” Roxanne said.